Support wire stripping tool

ABSTRACT

A READILY APPLICABLE AND EXOENDITIOUSLY MANIPULABLE HAND TOOL WHICH LENDS INTSELF TO PRACTICAL USE IN THE TELEPHONE INDUSTRY. IT ENABLES THE USER TO CLEAVE AND STRIP OFF THE USUAL WEB ATTACHED, BUT SEVERABLE, SUPPORT WIRE OF A PLASTIC JACKETED TELEPHONE CABLE. AN ELONGATED HEAD HAS A SURFACE PROVIDED AT A REARWARD END WITH AN OFFSET T-SHAPED HANDLE. APPROPRIATE SLOT MEANS ACCOMMODATINGLY POCKETS THE COVERED SUPPORT WIRE AND ITS CABLE ATTACHING WEB. THE CLEAVING BLADE HAS A CUTTING EDGE BRIDGING THE SLOT MEANS AND COMES INTO PLAY AS THE TOOL IS PULLED ALONG THE CABE AND THE ATTACHED SUPPORT WIRE.

Oct 1971 w. F. BELLING SUPPORT WIRE STRIPPING TOOL Filed Oct. 30, 1969William E Belling INVIiNTOK.

United States Patent 61 fice 3,611,571 PatentedUct. 112, T9711 3,611,571SUPPORT WIRE STRIPPING TOOL William F. Belling, 3214 S. 28th St., LaCrosse, Wis. 54601 Filed Oct. 30, 1969, Ser. No. 872,616 Int. Cl. H02g1/12 U.S. Cl. 30-280 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A readilyapplicable and expeditiously manipulable hand tool which lends itself topractical use in the telephone industry. It enables the user to cleaveand strip off the usual web attached, but severable, support wire of aplastic jacketed telephone cable. An elongated head has a surfaceprovided at a rearward end with an offset T-shaped handle. Appropriateslot means accommodatlngly pockets the covered support wire and itscable attaching web. The cleaving blade has a cutting edge bridging theslot means and comes into play as the tool is pulled along the cable andthe attached support wire.

This invention relates to a hand tool which is expressly designed and isuniquely adapted for use in the telephone industry in that it enables auser to cleave and detach the web-attached support wire whichconstitutes a part of a telephone cable, more particularly, a plasticcovered cable wherein a correspondingly covered support wire is joinedto the cable by a severable web.

For background information it should be so pointed out at the outset ofthe description that the special purpose tool herein under considerationlends itself to reliable use and serviceability when the user is calledupon to cope with the difficulty of severing and detaching theaforementioned cable support wire. The cable herein disclosed isrepresentative of a type of cable which is used extensively in thetelephone industry and which is characterized by a support wire which iscommensurate in length with and spaced from the peripheral surface of aplastic covered cable and which is joined to the cable by way of anintervening attaching web. As is known it is necessary to remove thesupport wire so that the cable can be installed in buildings wherenumerous sharp bends and turns have to be made. It is virtuallyimpossible to run this type of a cable from a pole to a building andthen into and through a conduit with the support wire still attached tothe jacket of the cable. Prior to the advent of the instant invention ithas been necessary to use a knife of one type or another to remove thesupport wire. However and in so doing the knife cutting step is oftenobjectionable in that it cuts into the telephone cable itself anddamages the cable. The disclosed tool makes it practical and feasible toremove the support wire with no damage to the cable.

Briefly, the tool is preferably made of aluminum and embodies a rigidelongated body or head which may be of the shape shown in the drawingsand which has a face which is of an area that the median lengthwiseportion is adapted to be firmly attached to and progressively pulled andslid along the cable. This head has a forward end and a rearward end.The rearward end has a rigid rearwardly extending handle thereon. Thehead has an elongated open ended guideway in which the support wire andalso the major part of the attaching web is retentively keyed. A webcleaving blade is secured to the aforementioned face and has a cuttingedge which bridges the guideway.

More specifically the guideway is in the form of a keyhole shaped slotwhich embodies a cylindrical open-ended bore and a complemental radialslot. This slot opens at an outer lengthwise edge through alongitudinally centralized area of the aforementioned face. The handleis preferably T-shaped in plan and embodies a relatively short stoutshank which is joined at its forward end to the rearward end of the headand has a cross-head joined to the rearward end of the shank andproviding a pair of outstanding finger grips. The handle is suitablyoffset with respect to the plane of the aforementioned slotted face. Itis balanced and so arranged that it enables the user to handle the toolwith efficiency and reliability.

As will be hereinafter more fully appreciated the tool is simple,practical and durable in construction and functions with positivecertainty to cleave and separate the supporting wire from thecommunications cable. It is easy to use and will function repeatedly andwith requisite safety, is almost indestructible, well serves thepurposes for which it has been devised and perfected.

Experience has shown that the tool is so designed and balanced that thehandle enables the user to slide the tool evenly along the cableseparating support wire and cable with virtually no damage to the cableitself. The keyhole type track or guideway lines the cable up so thatthe separation of the support wire from the cable is neat and evenmaking it possible to expeditiously take care of the severing andstripping job outside of a building, much to the advantage of allconcerned.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective showing a fragmentary portion of theaforementioned telephone cable, showing the tool and how it isconstructed and used and with a portion of the support wire severed andready for expeditious separation.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the tool by itself and on a suitablyenlarged scale.

'FIG. 3 is a central longitudinal sectional view taken approximately ona plane of the line 33 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of theindicating arrows.

FIG. 4 is a transverse or cross-sectional view taken on the plane of thevertical line 44 of FIG. 3.

The conventional type cable is denoted in FIG. 1 by the numeral 6 and ischaracterized, as usual by the communication core or cable 8 and theplastic or equivalent insulation jacket 10. The support wire is denotedat 12 and the covering therefor is denoted at 14. The attaching orconnecting web is denoted at 16 and normally is joined integrally at 18to a lengthwise peripheral surface of the cable covering.

The attachable and detachable hand tool is of onepiece construction andis preferably but not necessarily made of moldable aluminum. The bodyportion of the tool 20 is of elongated block-like form and is designatedas an elongated head 22. It has a substantially fiat or planar bottomface 24 which rests with requisite nicety on the cable covering 10 inthe manner shown in FIG. 1. The opposed top surface 26 may be slightlyconvex if desired. The over-all configuration is of elongated ovate formand the forward end is denoted at 28 and the rearward end at 30. TheT-shaped offset handle is denoted at 32 and has a suitably stout shank34 joined to the rearward end and terminating in outstanding fingergrips36 which facilitate catching hold of the tool and moving it step-by-stepin a seemingly obvious manner. The openended guideway, sometimesreferred to as a guide track, cbmprises a keyhole-shaped slot whereinthe bore or hole proper is denoted at 38 and opens through therespective ends 28 and 30. The slot 40 opens into the bore and alsoopens centrally through the face 24-. This face is provided rearwardlyof the forward end and forwardly of the rearward end with a groove toaccommodate an insertable and removable cleaving blade which is denotedat 42 and is fitted in place and held by screws 44 and is provided witha cutting edge 46 which bridges the mouth of the slot.

The over-all tool is constructed as shown in the views of the drawingand as used in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A special purpose hand tool for cleaving and stripping off theseverable support wire of a plastic-covered telephone cable comprising arigid elongated head having a surface which is adapted to be orientedwith and progressively slid along the covered surface of said cable,said head having forward and rearward ends and said rearward end havingrigid handle means, said head having a guideway in which said supportwire is cooperatively retentively but releasably keyed, and a cleavingblade coordinated with said surface and having a cutting edge bridgingand coacting with said guideway, said guideway comprising akeyhole-shaped slot which embodies a cylindrical bore and a complementalradial slot, said slot opening at an outer lengthwise edge through alongitudinally central area of said surface.

2. The tool defined in and according to claim 1, and wherein said handlemeans is T-shaped in plan and embodies a relatively short stout shankjoined at its forward end to the rearward end of said head, and across-head joined to the rearward end of said shank and providing a pairof like outstanding fingergrips, whereby to facilitate handling andsteadily dragging the over-all tool along and into contact with thecovering of said cable.

3. The tool defined in and according ot claim 2, and wherein said bladeis superimposed upon and accessibly and removably affixed to said face,said blade being spaced from the respective forward and rearward ends ofsaid slot and the cutting edge being transverse to and cross- 151g aportion of the slot intermediate the ends of said s 0t.

4. A special purpose hand tool for cleaving and stripping oif theweb-attached but severable support wire of a plastic-covered telephonecable comprising a rigid elongated head having a face which is adaptedto be firmly seated upon and progressively slid along the webattachedcovered surface of said cable, said head having forward and rearwardends and said rearward end having rigid rearwardly extending handlemeans, said head having a keyhole-shaped guideway formed therethroughand embodying a straight through cylindrical bore opening at its endsthrough the forward and rearward ends of said head, and a complementalslot opening along an inner edge into the companion bore and openingalong an outer edge through a centralized longitudinal area of saidface.

5. The tool defined in and according to claim 4, and wherein said handlemeans is T-shaped in plan and embodies a relatively short stout shank.joined at its forward end to the rearward end of head and a cross-headjoined to the rearward end of said shank and providing a pair of likeoutstanding fingergrips, whereby to facilitate handling and steadilydragging the over-all tool along and into contact with the covering ofsaid cable.

6. The tool defined in and according to claim 5, and wherein said bladeis superimposed upon and accessibly and removably aflixed to said face,said blade being spaced from the respective forward and rearward ends ofsaid slot and the cutting edge being transverse to and crossing aportion of the slot intermediate the ends of said slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,062,310 5/1913 Waite 30-280 X3,109,332 11/1963 Rando 8l9.5

ROBERT C. R'IORDON, Primary Examiner R. V. PARKER, JR., AssistantExaminer US. Cl. X.R. 81-95 C; 3090.4

